A network can be made up of a network infrastructure (including various network entities) that is used by devices to communicate with each other through the network. Examples of network entities include switches, routers, configuration servers (e.g. Dynamic Host Configuration Protocol or DHCP servers), and so forth.
Traditionally, the network infrastructure of a particular network is owned by a network operator. For example, an enterprise, such as a business concern, educational organization or government agency, can operate a network for use by users (e.g. employees, customers, etc.) of the enterprise. The network infrastructure of such network is owned by the enterprise.
In an alternative arrangement, instead of using a network operator's own network infrastructure to implement a network, the network operator can instead pay to use networking entities provided by a third party service provider. The service provider provides an infrastructure that includes various network entities accessible by customers (also referred to as “tenants”) of the service provider. By using the infrastructure of the service provider, a network operator would not have to invest in various components of a network infrastructure, and would not have to be concerned with maintenance of the network infrastructure.